


Boys Like Boys Like Girls Do

by kuramaswifey



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Phan, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Deaf Character, Disability, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-06-02 09:17:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6560701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuramaswifey/pseuds/kuramaswifey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Soulmate AU where at 21 people have the initials of their soulmate on their bodies somewhere. Alec is gay, he knows this, he is also dating a woman because it keeps his family off his back. It just happens to work in his favor that she and his actual soulmate share the same initials. It just so happens that she doesn't have her tattoo yet either so life is good. Except that she's terrible and he just met this cute guy and his friend Dan is very deaf and has a crush on this very not deaf internet celebrity and he said he would help and... his life is just a little bit of a mess but whose isn't?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mystery Man

“I’m so glad you agreed to come here with me tonight Alec” Mayse said rubbing her perfectly manicured talons up and down her boyfriend’s washboard abs.  
“It is your birthday, one night out on the town won’t kill me now will it?” I forced a smile onto my face and bent down to place a small kiss on the temple of Mayse’s perfect blonde head. In reality I would rather be anywhere else right now, I’d even take being at home in the presence of my asshole of a father Robert. Even his name is assholey, Robert. I bet his mother hated him. I raked a pale hand through my inky black hair and braced myself for this night of torture I’ve only subjected myself to in order to keep up the tiring charade of being heterosexual. It’s exhausting especially when you have a handsy joy sucking gremlin attached to you. “Come on hands off the merchandise young lady, we haven’t even gotten into the club yet. You’re going to make all the other girls so jealous.”  
“You’re right, the night has only just begun. Come on.” They walked past the velvet rope and into the boat...club… club disguised as a boat.  
It was a nice club, well as nice as a nightclub full of sweaty teens could be. The bass was so high you could feel the thrum of it in your chest. She zig-zagged me through the sea of bodies over to a relatively empty space. We don’t have to take our clothes off, to have a good time oh no. We could dance and party all night, and drink some cherry wine, oh no. “I like the song” I all but yelled into Mayse's ear. She was paying zero attention to what I was saying, she was in the zone. She was moving her hands up my shirt, rubbing her chest all over me as if marking her territory with the new perfume I’d gotten her as an early birthday gift. She kept her hands moving never pausing, like a shark. Lower and lower, she snaked her fingers into the loops on my pants and pulled me closer to her.  
“Hey do you want something to drink?” She’s even handsier than usual tonight, I am too sober for this shit. After not acknowledging that I’d said anything at all and openly oogling the shit out of the strip of skin right above my pants that is now showing from her tugging my shirt out of my pants I’d had enough. Call me old fashioned but I don’t think sex on the dance floor is sanitary, or a thing for that matter. Who does that. Whore. I pushed her hand down ever so gently, “I think we need a little party fuel don’t you? I heard they make a mean cuba libre here.” Because she totally needs alcohol in her, I’m endangering my innocence right now but I highly doubt I can keep this up completely sober. It’s just not possible. I booped her nose with my finger because that’s what loving heterosexual boyfriends do right?  
“Make mine a double shot babe!” She slapped my ass as I walked to the bar. Screw the libre I’m going to need the entire bottle of vodka to get me through this one.  
I reached the bar and picked out a seat at the end far away from everyone else and flagged over the bartender. “What can I get you hot stuff?” Jesus more straight people, why can’t they control themselves??  
“Can I get a cuba libre but like make it like half of a half of a half as much rum as you usually put in it, the lady’s a lightweight what can I say. And a double shot of vodka?”  
“Sure thing handsome. Coming right up” Ugh just get me my drinks lady. Then I could feel someone sit next to me, a guy and he had a girl in his lap. They’re fucking everywhere!  
“I’ll have whatever this hottie ordered” The guy next to me said. Ugh can’t you suck up to your bimbo of a girlfriend farther away from me?? I just want my drinks.  
“Sure thing Mister Bane” bimbo number two aka our bartender practically purred.  
“So?” the guy was now looking at me over the blonde head of his girlfriend, whose dress might as well have been a t-shirt… for a small child.  
“So what?” I finally looked up from the bar to actually look at this guy who was for some reason trying to engage in conversation with me. His eyes. He had the most gorgeous eyes I had ever seen. They were brown but not that ugly soulless kind of brown, the kind of brown that looked like polished amber in the sun, I’ve never seen anyone with eyes that color. They almost looked yellow and reflective the way that a cat’s eyes looked in certain light. And they sat perfectly in their almond shape on his tan face above his perfect nose all being brought together by his silver hair. The mystery man was clearly hip and jiggy to pull off that color, his dark roots were beginning to show but he still made it work. He looked slightly Asian but mostly European, but he was darker than me… which I guess isn’t hard to do but we Europeans don’t brown we crisp. I met his perfect eyes and I blushed, really really hard. Damn my ivory skin.  
The man smirked at me, “So what did we order? Something good I hope.”  
“I’m sorry?” why is this gorgeous specimen talking to me?  
“What did we-” he was cut off by the bartender bringing out two double shots and my basically virgin cuba libre… so coke… it was coke.  
“Here you go sir” the man pulled out what looked like a 50 dollar bill and told her to keep the change. After she left he turned to me again,  
“Double shot, I like it.” He picked up his drink and the girl on his lap whispered something into his ear, giggled, and walked off. “She likes you;” he stared at me for a second in what looked like deep concentration “she never likes anyone” He leaned down so I could feel his breath in my ear. I was blushing profusely and probably looked like a total dweeb. He chuckled a deep throaty laugh, so sexy. He then slipped me a napkin with some writing on it, “Call me” and with that he disappeared into the ocean of people. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be a total waste of time.


	2. Drowning Both Metaphorically and IRL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait! A wild Dan appears! By the way if anyone was wondering her name is pronounced like Maze.Did anyone catch that Warehouse 13 shout out in there? Aaaand, what's up with Alec's tattoo? So many mysteries.

The rest of the night was an extremely uninteresting blur resulting in a massive headache for me. Thank the angel for curfew. I had Mayse home by midnight... well 11:30 but I digress. I sat in my car in her driveway for a few minutes before I left, it was nice to have some peace and quiet after the night of sweaty sexual harassment I endured. Sometimes I think this whole thing isn't worth the trouble, and then I snap back to harsh, unfair, cruel, reality that stuck me in this crazily old fashioned family. Honor and pride and blah blah blah. If I could turn the gay off like a switch trust me I would, life would be so much easier if it worked that way. Normal people have no idea how easy they have it, they never have to think twice about who they like or being careful not to let your real feelings show. Conceal don't feel, Elsa was definitely on to something with that. I took a deep calming breath and pulled out my phone to shoot my friend a quick text letting him know I was coming over. There's no way after the night I had that I was going to willingly subject myself to the torture of 20 questions with my parents about Mayse. "Siri text Dan, I'm coming over... And bring out the asprin. It's been a LONG night."  
I pulled up to the apartment complex into my usual spot and pulled out my extra set of keys. Dan is deaf... well newly deaf. He got sick a few years ago and ended up going deaf so he can talk just fine and is pretty good at reading lips because he knows what shape lips should make forming certain sounds. Not a lot of people even know he'd deaf he's that good, and that includes his weird online cult following he gathered. I don't even know. But spend a lot of time here so he made me an extra key in case he wasn't paying attention and couldn't hear the door. This was not one such time. The minute I walked up the stairs the door flew open and a glass of water was pushed into my hand.  
"Alec!"  
I raised my eyebrows in question and waited for him to explain what had him so excited.  
"LOOK!" Dan dragged me into the apartment past the dining room straight into his livingroom where he had his laptop set up. On the screen was a screenshot of a youtube video.  
"Not this again" I signed this time by placing the tips of my fingers on my right hand into the palm of my left and adding a disappointed glare for good measure.  
"L-O-O-K" Dan finger spelled slowly for dramatic emphasis.  
"Okay okay." Dan zoomed in until the picture was fuzzy and distorted but on the wrist of the pale mad in the screenshot appeared to be the letters D.H. or D.B. Dan has this obsession with some youtuber who he isn't even sure is gay and ever since me got his tattoo that said P.L he had been convinced that Phil Lester aka AmazingPhil is his soulmate. So he started a youtube too hoping to get his attention but somehow ended up with a following of his own. Anywho Phil usually takes care to keep his tattoo out of sight and it is rather blurry but the odds of the two of them having each other's initials does give Dan's obsession a little more validity than when the only thing he had to go off was his own tattoo. I mean P.L could have been Pete Lattimer from the apartment below his for all he knew.  
I turned to Dan "You know you can be kind of scarily determined sometimes, I'll give you that but that still doesn't mean you're right."  
"You're just salty because you haven't found yours yet."  
"Neither have you!"  
Dan just rolled his eyes obviously done with this conversation. I took a sip of my water and downed the asprin in my hand. "So what-" I started to say when I was interrupted by a cough.  
Dan looked at me, "You o-k?" he signed.  
"Yeah I just-" I coughed again and this time water came out of my mouth. I dropped to my knees coughing desperately trying to expel the water that somehow got into my lungs. It felt like when you go swimming and inhale accidentally. My chest burned.  
"Alec! Alec!!" Dan was on his knees next to me yelling my name. I coughed a phew more times and then it passed. I inhaled greedily trying to soothe my burning lungs with cold air.  
"That was super weird." Dan was staring at me in horror. "What?" I followed his eyes down to my wrist. The M.B that usually sat there, strong, ever present, the steadiest thing in my life, the anchor that keeps the hope that maybe someday I won't be alone, was fading. Not gone but sort of ghostly. I turned to Dan, the expert on these things, whatever just happened couldn't be good but what exactly just happened I didn't know, "What does that mean?"  
Dan looked at me like I was the dumbest thing on earth. He grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the front door. "We have to go. Now. I hope I'm right about this."


	3. Code Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not super long and nothing terribly interesting happened and that Alec is slightly ooc but we're getting to the good stuff I promise!! I'm glad someone caught that warehouse 13 shoutout in there. Maybe Claudia will show up later, who knows. We should be seeing Catarina and get some Alec and Magnus dialogue next chapter and the Phan is coming! Thanks to everyone who is reading and I hope you guys like this chapter!

"Where are we going?" I ducked into Dan's car. For both of us being over 6 foot his car is really... inconvenient. He didn't answer my question, I don't know why I thought he would, he can't see my lips while he's driving. I always wonder what it must be like for him. If you were born deaf it might not be so bad, how can you miss something you never had? But Dan, to have sound for most of your life and then for it to be taken from you so suddenly. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have an excuse to shut everyone out. To not hear the arguments raging downstairs at all hours of the day, to not hear the incessant blabbering of a shallow idiot, to be alone with my own thoughts. I think all of these things but I'd never hear the sound of my brother and sister bickering, or the sound of music, or the melodic thwack of an arrow hitting a practice board. I've asked him how he feels about it and he always replies with the same line, 'You endure what is unbearable and you bear it, that is all'.  
After about 15 minutes of silence Dan pulled over and killed the engine but we weren't anywhere particular, just the side of the road. He turned to me, "I heard a story from one of my subscribers asking for help on one of my internet support group videos about her mark fading a bit. Marks never leave your body, even when one of you dies but yours is fading." He checked my arm again just be sure and nodded. Dan pulled his cell out of his pocket and pulled up a photo of some girls' ankle with a half faded M.C on it.   
"Okay so I'm not a freak of nature, go on."  
"Well this isn't a common thing so I wouldn't say you're not a freak... You know how people with really strong bonds can sometimes feel the other person's state of mind? Well she was feeling her soulmate's pain and her mark was acting like some sort of couple bat signal to tell her that her boyfriend was in life threatening danger. She didn't say anything about experiencing the same physical effects as her soulmate like choking water or anything but I figured if the same thing was happening we should check the local hospital... but I don't know if they'll be okay... or even if they're here at all. It's your call Alec."  
I took a moment to process all of this information and I lost it, "So what you're telling me is that my soulmate could be hurt, or dying, or dead, and I haven't even met them yet?" How is this even fair? What did I do in a past life to deserve something like this? "What you're saying is I can choose to walk into this hospital and watch someone that is supposed to be my other half in pain while I stand idly by like the awkward, useless, stranger to them that I am or I can choose to walk away, blissfully ignorant and we can complain about Mayse over some late night shooting practice?"  
Dan looked at me with so much sympathy, he put a fist over his heart and moved it in a circle. 'I'm sorry'. Dan tends to use his voice to communicate unless he's really sad. He says it's because he trusts his hands to speak when can't trust the steadiness of his own voice.   
I sighed and rubbed my face, if the situation were reversed and my soulmate chose to walk away... I know I don't even know them but I'd feel so betrayed. I have to do this. He might not even be here and I'm psyching myself up for nothing. I moved my shaky hands to the seat belt and buckled myself in once more, I nodded my head and the engine rolled over. Here we go Alec.

We pulled into the parking lot but Dan didn't turn the car off just yet. He looked over at me one more time to make sure I wanted to do this. I'm not sure I'd deserve to be someone's soulmate if I walked away now. I opened the door, "Let's just do this before I chicken out." We walked up the the big automatic doors and I could already taste the stale hospital air. I hate hospitals, they cause me great deals of anxiety. Dan grabbed my arm and tugged me forward.   
"Do you have a recent admitee that is perhaps in for almost drowning or something of the like with the initials M.B?" Dan asked the receptionist lady who looked about as happy to be there as I was.  
"And what's your name?" she asked Dan but she had a thick accent and I could tell he was having trouble reading her lips.  
I tapped my index and middle fingers on my right hand on top of the same fingers on my left and raised my eyebrows. 'name' He nodded in understanding and appreciation.   
"Daniel Howell." The receptionist picked up a clipboard and began flipping through it slowly, I didn't have a lot of time to become impatient because I could've sworn I was just hit in the chest with a 10 lb bowling ball and it broke some things because I went down like a sack of potatoes. I was on the floor struggling to breathe when an alarm went off in the hospital. The receptionist grabbed a radio and started yelling code blue into it. I'm no expert on hospital lingo but I was fairly certain blue was not code for everything's cool there's free jello in the cafeteria if you want it.   
Dan was looking around clearly freaked out by the flashing lights and sudden commotion, I was still on the floor clutching my chest trying to keep all of my insides from shifting around too much, and down the hall there was a man on a stretcher being brought in and another man yelling profanities as the unconscious man while some nurses tried to subdue him. The more I stared the more familiar that mop of silver hair became. The man from the club earlier tonight? Coincidence? The universe is rarely so lazy. And that's the last thing I remember before blacking out completely. Tonight just keeps on getting better.


	4. Awkward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, I've had a real case of writer's block lately. If anyone else wants to chat out their writer's block or has any suggestions tweet me! @kuramaswifey  
> I hope you guys weren't waiting too terribly long for this!!! Btw when Dan has dialogue in a single quotation it's because he's signing :D

My ears are ringing and I feel like I've just been hit by a truck. Like a big truck. I don't want to open my eyes because I know it's going to hurt but I can see the bright light of the room behind my eyelids causing my eyes to scrunch up. I know Dan saw that, I can feel his hand, or what I assume to be his hand, on my forearm... he doesn't say anything though. I slowly peel open my right eye to see an annoyed looking Dan staring back at me. "Why do I feel like I was hit by a truck?"  
Dan looked as if he were taking the deepest of breaths to begin this long tale and then a nurse walked in and he deflated like an old balloon.  
"I'm sorry sweetheart, no one has even been in here to check on you but with that other kid parked up in here everyone is fending off paparazzi left and right. It's like a war zone out there." The nurse put down a cup of water and two white pills on to the stand next to the bed. "I'll be back in here soon as I can, in the meantime those should help with the pain."  
I downed the pills without a second thought and watched the nurse lady nod approvingly and turn on her heel to march back into the chaos. "There's a celebrity here?" I asked Dan.  
Dan shrugged, 'I'don't be more impressed if there were WiFi here.'  
"Why are you signing to me? Not that I have a problem with it but you're usually much more... vocal."  
'Oh one of the nurses saw you sign to me in the lobby but didn't hear me talk so she assumed I couldn't and proceeded to try really hard to spell out her name for me. She brought me a pen and notepad and everything. I couldn't tell her I could speak, it'd break her heart and be awkward as shit, at that point I was already too far in. I just committed.' Dan shrugged.  
"Alright then." I sat back into the bed. "Do you happen to know what happened to that guy they wheeled in right before I passed out? Is he okay?"  
'The white haired lad?'  
I nodded. I know I don't know him or anything but just the thought of him not being okay was making it kind of hard to breathe. I mean whatever happened to my chest probably had more to do with that but still. I feel like I need to check on him. Just make sure. He did give me his number... that justifies my sudden need to see his face right?  
'I don't know. They brought him into the room next to us but that's all I know. Why?'  
"Well-" I was interrupted by my generic iphone ringtone, I am so boring. Incoming call from Jace. Oh shit. I didn't go home or let anyone know where I was going. I didn't mean to stay out this long, I was going to let off some steam with Dan and get home but life had other plans I guess. "Hello?"  
"HELLO?!?! No call, no text, bed not slept in and all you have to say is hello?!?!?!" Sometimes Jace acts more like my mother than my mother does. Who am I kidding, Jace ALWAYS acts more like my mother than my mother does.  
"He answered? Where is he? Alec where are you? Ask him where he is!" Where there is one mother hen another is close behind.  
"I'm fine Izzy. Tell her I'm fine Jace."  
"The hell-" Dan was about to jump in and divulge the happenings of this evening/morning but another nurse walked in right at that moment and he shut right up. She nodded at me noting that I was on the phone and turned to Dan. She shakily signed that she needed to ask him some questions. He picked up his pen and notepad and began to follow her out of the room. The nurse walked out in front of him and he gave me a disapproving shake of the head before he disappeared after her.  
"Alec where are you?" Damn Dan and his ,I'm disappointed in you, face. They'd find out sooner or later. I don't know how long they're going to want me here so I might as well come clean now.  
"Don't freak out but I'm in the hospital, I just-"  
"YOU'RE WHERE?!?! Which one. We're coming right now!" I could hear the faint jingle of car keys in Jace's hands. "He's in the hospital!" He yelled to Izzy.  
"Why is he in the hospital? What happened? Jace ask him what happened!"  
"You guys, I have to go, they have some questions for me, I'll call you right back don't worry!"  
"Alec! Don't you hang up this phone, I swear-" I pressed the red disconnect button. I'll call them back in a bit I just need a minute. I swung my legs off the bed and used the copious amounts of machinery next to me to steady myself on my feet. I was immediately winded. Easy does it Alec. After regaining a somewhat normal breathing pattern I started shuffling my way outside of the room. I peeked my head out the door frame. Look left, right, left again, coast is clear. Now lucky for me my room is situated at the end of the hallway so the only room next to mine is this one, room 401. Is this weird? Probably. I'll just peek in. Just a peek. I popped my head in to the room. The blankets were pulled up high and the only thing I could see from here is his hair. He's hooked up to all these beeping machines and I don't know what came over me but I had to be closer. I walked up to the side of his bed but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I was content just hearing him breathe so instead I watched the IV drip steadily and zoned ouy... I don't know what I'm doing in here but I don't like it. This feeling of helplessness, uselessness, I hate it.  
A strong voice came from behind me not unlike a ninja and caused me to almost loose my balance. Smooth Alec."Instead of calling me you decide to show up in my hospital room. We're moving so quickly. I don't even know your name."  
I turned around slowly to see some mischievous yellow eyes peeking at me from under the blankets.  
"I'm- I- I'm so sorry I just- I'll leave-I didn't"  
"Calm down, it's alright." He just kind of stared at me for a minute with his head cocked to the side like cats do when they're sizing you up. "I just wanted to know your name."  
If there is some higher power, messing with me is one of it's personal favorite things to do because for the second time in what felt like just as many hours I passed out. I was vaguely recall someone touching me with soothingly cold hands. I think I may have asked whoever those hands belonged to not to leave me and either I was more out of it than I thought or the person in question replied with,  
"Never."


End file.
